Jimmy Brennan



Name: Jimmy Brennan

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Grade: 12

School: Bayview Secondary School

Hobbies and Interests: Soccer, Gaming

Appearance: Jimmy is a short kid for his age, only around 5 feet tall, and rather skinny at only around 130 Pounds. He has a rather fair complexion, and a thick head of ginger-ish hair which is more often than not accompanied by a rather unwanted cowlick. Apart from this, Jimmy has a pair of rather deep green eyes and his face is covered in freckles, an unfortunate fact which Jimmy is constantly reminded of.

Jimmy doesn't have a specific style of dress, preferring to wear whatever is comfortable at the time. His wardrobe consists almost entirely of t-shirts, hoodies and jeans. The only real fashion quirk Jimmy has is a pair of dark brown gloves which he incessantly wears nearly everywhere, much to the annoyance of those around him. Jimmy is stubborn however and refuses to get rid of them.

Biography: Jimmy is the youngest son of Melanie and Ryan Brennan, born into a family with three older brothers, Patrick, Elliot and Brian all now in their late twenties. Jimmy wasn’t an expected child, and was indeed unplanned for. However his parents were financially well off and having strong Christian background, went ahead and had a fourth child.

Jimmy has three older brothers who at an early age regularly abused him and excluded him from their activities. Jimmy never really bonded with his brothers and was to put it best, forced into the position of Black Sheep of the family. The reason behind most of his brother’s torment stemmed mostly from his own actions, from an early age Jimmy was prone to expressing the attitude of being right about everything and never admitting to being wrong, which infuriated his brothers to no end. Jimmy was physically weaker than his brothers and coupled with his annoying nature he became a punching bag for his older brothers. Jimmy’s parents however, were extremely intolerant towards fighting in the family and punished his brothers severally for laying a hand on him. Instead of this ending the fights however, it simply empowered Jimmy and provided him with his only method of striking back and getting his way. Whenever his brothers would annoy him or go against what he wanted, Jimmy would begin hurting himself, and tattling to his parents blaming his siblings for the bruises. His sibling’s anger against him only increased due to this behavior. Jimmy was content however, having an effective way of winning any argument.

However when Jimmy reached Elementary, things began to change. Not being the strongest kid, Jimmy often fell behind in the physical activities no matter how hard he tried. Jimmy became angry very quickly when he was told he couldn’t accomplish something, and lashed out at those who told him and even those who tried to assist him, trying to prove he was as independent as possible. Stubborn, Jimmy still partook in sports and games with the other kids but his attitude grew increasingly sour as he was increasingly outshone by his classmates. Jimmy’s personality was loud to begin with, and as he grew more frustrated he only grew more obnoxious and soon found himself prone to saying things rather bluntly. This accumulated in the majority of the class seeking to exclude Jimmy, something he didn’t take very well. As time went on, Jimmy became more and more obnoxious trying to fit into the “Popular Group”, and his classmates grew less tolerable of his presence. His “I’m always right” attitude didn’t help to win him any friends either.

Jimmy was subject to bullying not only due to his annoying behavior, but due to his appearance. His many freckles were often brought up, something Jimmy especially hated. Jimmy wasn’t the brightest of kids and unable to formulate comebacks to these insults he began to rely heavily on vulgarity and curses, which eventually extended to the point where Jimmy swore constantly, even in casual conversation. Jimmy looked to fight fire with fire, and in response to the bullying chose to torment those who he saw as his bullies. This mainly consisted of constant verbal abuse on Jimmy’s part, which eventually served to egg his opponents on into fighting him regardless if he wants it or not.

Jimmy has never won a fight in his life. Undisciplined and weak, Jimmy often found himself thrown about and generally beaten to a bloody pulp before he had even a chance to lay a hand on his opponents. On the rare occasions when Jimmy did get in close enough to his opponents, he’d resort to doing anything to harm his foe, especially using dirty tactics to hurt them. This, while effective, has never fully stopped anyone from beating him up.

Despite often goading others into fights with him with his annoying antics, Jimmy is a crybaby and snitch. Whenever caught fighting, Jimmy would depict a tragic tale with himself as a victim, no matter what part he played. Often times, this would be accompanied by crying due to the pain. Jimmy is often in pain, and has broken many bones during his short life thus far. Jimmy has gotten used to pain however, and quite likes it, not the actual experience of pain but the idea of it being inflicted upon him. Jimmy is fascinated by how much the human body can take before breaking and often fantasizes about being pushed to his limits and still being able to stand tall and proud, a testament to his (absent) might. This idea, and adrenaline are the only things that keep Jimmy going in a fight. If it wasn’t for the pain and the fact that often times he cries when hurt, Jimmy would love injuries which he feels makes him more macho and gives him “cred”.

Jimmy is treated with little respect due to his nature (both in fights and out of them) by the general student populace. Jimmy doesn’t understand why this is however; in all honesty, Jimmy thinks that not only is he never wrong when it comes to fights (or anything else), but that he is also a badass who is able to take pain and dish it out. None of these is true, but it doesn’t prevent Jimmy from thinking it. In a way, Jimmy see’s himself as a hero who is beset by foes constantly and subconsciously tries to express what he feels are his more “Heroic” tendencies.

As Jimmy advanced towards Senior Year, more of his peers simply began to avoid him and Jimmy found himself without friends. Jimmy’s anger began to lessen and he became more reserved, feeling he was disliked for no discernable reason (he won’t acknowledge any of his flaws.) Jimmy began to develop a more pessimistic attitude, feeling that nothing will ever exactly work out for him. Jimmy is distrustful of others as he feels they will only eventually and “inexplicably” hate him. His stubborn streak and bizarre quirks remain, but for the most part he avoids people now and would much rather be left alone than be fighting against someone.

Jimmy instead finds solace in his extracurricular activities away from others, which mostly consists of long nights playing Video Games. Jimmy is an amateur artist, but isn’t exactly the most unique or skilled out there. He isn’t very good with accepting criticism and mostly creates art on his own, never showing it to others. Most of his art reflects his often terrible mood and although he isn’t the greatest, it helps to calm him down and brings out a different side of him.

Advantages: Jimmy believes himself to be a badass who is willing to fight anyone and knock them down a few pegs. Coupled with his stubbornness he can prove to be a crazed and unpredictable fighter which somewhat making up for his lack of strength. Jimmy wants to endure more than anything else and prove to others he is strong and able to fend for himself. Jimmy has spent a long time being independent and looking out for Number One.

Disadvantages: A crybaby and snitch, Jimmy was very infamous for his behavior at School. He has since quieted down some, but many students still see Jimmy as a rude, foul mouthed, obnoxious boy prone to getting on one’s nerves. He can still be this at times especially when he gets into a bad mood. Jimmy has no close friends and mostly keeps to himself, refusing to see any of his flaws. He’s a terrible fighter and has often been beaten bloody when fighting someone, often before he can even get a punch in. His ego is detrimental as well; his insistence that he is hardcore and a badass has often landed him in a tough spot and together with his foul mouth this often resulted in Jimmy getting beat up. While he strives for endurance during fights, Jimmy can’t stop himself from crying when he receives a bad injury. Jimmy isn’t the brightest kid at the best of times, and when angered he doesn’t think things through.

Designated Number: Male Student No. 134

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Designated Weapon: Can of Moxie

Conclusion: Heh... you sure you can handle that, shrimpy? That soda isn't like other stuff you've ever drunk before. It's made for REAL men, so it's a shame they really don't make it much anymore. More of an acquired taste, really. I'd advise you to drink more, except that it's going to be the last thing you EVER drink!

'The above biography is as written by Little Boy. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: Little Boy

Kills: Phillip Ward, JJ Sturn, Samya "Sammy" Franklin, Alex White

Killed By: Alex White

Collected Weapons: Can of Moxie (assigned weapon)

Allies: None

Enemies: None

Mid-game Evaluation:

Post-Game Evaluation:

Memorable Quotes:


 * "I'M GOING TO DIE. I'M GOING TO DIE. PHILLIP WARD IS GOING TO FIND ME AND FUCK ME IN THE ASS." -Some of Jimmy's first thoughts upon waking up on Survival of the Fittest


 * "CRAIG HOYLE IS GOING TO RAPE YOU AND WEAR YOUR SKIN AS A COAT!" - Yelled at Carly Jean Dooley while freaking out in the woods.

Other/Trivia

 * Jimmy Brennan is named after Toronto FC Football Player, Jimmy Brennan.

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Jimmy, in chronological order.

The Past:


 * 5 Minutes for Sucker Punching

Pre-Game:


 * WAH WAH “I’m Holden.” BOO HOO “People don’t understand me.”

V4:


 * Woods of Paranoia
 * The Only Way Is Up
 * Late Dawns and Early Sunsets
 * Final Third Foul
 * The Spark
 * Beyond Awkward
 * Doesn't Matter, I had Sex
 * The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
 * Monsters
 * No One Here Gets Out Alive
 * The Theory of Competition
 * The Aristocrats

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Jimmy Brennan. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''
 * Jimmy was an interesting character, one who I can really appreciate on a conceptual level but who I think struggled pretty hard in execution. Right off the bat, it's important to realize that Jimmy started as a joke. In pregame, he was the kid who got bullied but who was such a jerk and went so far out of his way to antagonize everyone into it that it was very hard to feel sorry for him. He was schadenfreude personified in a few instances. There were times when depth shone through, when you could feel sorry for Jimmy, but even then it was more in spite of his actions and thoughts than because of them. I actually think this was a fairly clever way to play Jimmy because it makes the readers complicit in his torment, which makes his later actions sit very uneasily.

In the game, he was also a screw-up, especially at first. He ran around being pathetic and freaking out about everything to a huge degree. This ran a little over the top and a little long, I feel, but wasn't awful. Jimmy then managed to kill one of the people who picked on him, and that marked the point at which Jimmy's arc really took shape.

The issue, though, is that the shape it took was quite rigid. Jimmy was going to be the harassed-kid-turned-menace come hell or high water, and quickly burned out any goodwill he might have had by throwing the attempts of anyone who tried to help or understand him back in his face. Like in pregame, Jimmy's issues came about more through him baiting other people relentlessly and threatening them than through anything like a misunderstanding. It didn't help that everything was still making fun of Jimmy; when he hooks up with Rosa Fiametta, a good space of time is given to mocking his sexual ineptitude.

This comes as, I feel, Little was in the process of maturing as a writer. From around when Rosa dies,  Jimmy displays a lot more potential for depth and seriousness, but the issue is that he's still the same character who spent a lot of the game as a punchline. Jimmy was definitely headed on an upwards trajectory, but was still struggling to find a path when he got rolled.

At this point, rather than trying to yank Jimmy up into some kind of redemption, Little decided to fully embrace what Jimmy had become. His last thread takes its title from the punchline of a joke infamous for its insanity and excess, and true to form Jimmy's last thread is an over-the-top self-parody, a total explosion of violence the likes of which hadn't been seen since V3. The first time I read it, I was pretty much appalled, but once I learned about the joke, the context became a lot clearer. There's humor to be found here, just a particular brand of dark gonzo humor. I think Jimmy was a flawed character, my least favorite of Little's crew, but he still has some great moments and in the end Little did a very good job of harnessing Jimmy's appeal and rolling with his history while at the same time letting everyone know that, yes, he was self-aware about the whole thing. - MurderWeasel